Homer, mentions gold in the “Iliad” and “Odyssey” as the glory of the immortals and a sign of wealth among ordinary humans. As early as 3100 B.C, in the code of Menes, the founder of the first Egyptian dynasty, there is evidence of a gold to silver value ratio. The Inca civilization called gold “the sweat of the sun.”

“Money existed in the form of work. Each subject of the [Inca] empire paid taxes by laboring on the myriad roads, crop terraces, irrigation canals, temples, or fortresses. In return, rulers paid their laborers in clothing and food. Silver and gold were abundant, but only used for aesthetics.” (www.lost-civilizations.net)

“Man has used many and various commodities for money. In different times and places, these commodities have included salt, furs, tea, tobacco, sugar, coca, iron, copper, base metals, ivory, and cowrie-shells…. Eventually, the markets settled on gold and silver as the best commodities for money. What each of these commodities possessed at one time or another and one place or another was their high saleability. Each was the commodity most easily sold at that time and place. Thus, money became the medium through which exchanges were made. That is, it became the medium of exchange. Ultimately, gold and silver became the most salable commodity and, therefore, money.” (Why Gold and Silver Became Money, T.C. Allen)

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